SPRING BROOK TWP. — In the wake of a fiery Schuylkill County crash that killed a Pennsylvania state trooper earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan reiterated his support for a proposed law aimed at preventing individuals in the country illegally from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses.
Michael Bon, 33, of Brockton, Massachusetts, faces felony vehicular homicide and other charges after his tractor-trailer veered off Interstate 81 early on July 1 and caused the crash that killed Trooper Michael Pahira, a 20-year state police veteran conducting a routine commercial inspection near mile marker 119 in Cass Twp. Bon, who was issued a CDL by the state of Massachusetts, is a Haitian immigrant who has been in the country illegally since June of last year, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Trooper Pahira made the ultimate sacrifice protecting the people of Pennsylvania, and his death should have never happened,” Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp., said Monday during a press conference at the Paul Bickelman Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 46. “We cannot change what happened to Trooper Pahira, but we can take action to help prevent another tragedy.”
Stephen Polishan, president of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, speaks during a press conference on Dalilah’s Law held at the Paul Bickelman FOP Lodge 46 in Spring Brook Twp. Monday, July 13, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The first-term GOP congressman, joined Monday by officials from the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, is a cosponsor of proposed legislation known as Dalilah’s Law. It’s named for Dalilah Coleman, a young child who suffered life-altering injuries in a 2024 California crash involving a CDL driver DHS said crossed the southern border illegally in 2022.
Among other features, the legislation requires states to verify they are not issuing CDLs to “illegal immigrants” and would significantly increase penalties for states that fail to comply through the withholding of federal funds, Bresnahan’s office noted in a March press release. It also aims to ensure that CDL holders understand English, with Bresnahan noting Monday that commercial drivers operating vehicles weighing up to 80,000 pounds “must be able to communicate in English, understand road signs and meet federal safety standards.”
“When states lower the bar for CDLs or fail to enforce these standards, everyone pays the price,” Bresnahan said. “Our roads are less safe, our law enforcement officers face greater risk and the public deserves better. We have seen far too many cases of people who are in this country illegally, breaking our laws and causing devastating crashes that injure or kill innocent Americans.”
U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (PA-08) speaks during a press conference on Dalilah’s Law held at the Paul Bickelman FOP Lodge 46 in Spring Brook Twp. Monday, July 13, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Boston Herald reported earlier this month that U.S. Customs and Border Protection admitted Bon into the United States on July 2, 2024, as a parolee. Bon later filed an application for Temporary Protected Status with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under the Biden administration, but it was never granted, according to that reporting, which notes USCIS terminated Bon’s parole in June 2025. He remained in the country illegally thereafter.
In a statement to the Herald, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles said Bon was eligible for and received a Non-Domiciled Commercial Driver’s License under federal standards at the time of his application in March 2025.
“Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr.’s death is a horrific and terrible tragedy. We mourn him and our thoughts are with his loved ones and fellow troopers. This defendant should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” RMV spokesperson Amelia Aubourg told the Boston paper. “The Non-Domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses program is a federal program. This individual was ruled eligible based on the Trump administration database and allowed to drive by federal law and Trump administration policies.”
Bon applied to renew his CDL this past February, before the Trump administration implemented a new rule in March restricting non-domiciled CDL eligibility. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles told the Herald he would not have been approved if he applied for renewal next year, per the paper.
That Bon was able to renew his CDL despite his parole being terminated months earlier is “unacceptable,” Bresnahan said Monday.
Pennsylvania State Troopers Association President Stephen Polishan and Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association President and CEO Rebecca Oyler also endorsed the proposed Dalilah’s Law.
“The motoring public deserves confidence that every individual operating a commercial motor vehicle has been properly vetted, lawfully licensed and fully qualified to do so,” Polishan said. “We owe it to Dalilah Coleman, Trooper Michael Pahira and others.”
Oyler echoed that sentiment.
Rebecca Oyler, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, speaks during a press conference on Dalilah’s Law held at the Paul Bickelman FOP Lodge 46 in Spring Brook Twp. Monday, July 13, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
“Commercial drivers should be properly trained, legally qualified to hold a CDL, able to communicate in English as federal law requires and held to consistent licensing standards no matter where they obtain their license,” she said. “Those aren’t new expectations. They are longstanding safety standards that help protect the public, support law enforcement and uphold the professionalism of the trucking industry.”
Bresnahan is running for reelection this year against Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, who said in a statement she supports the Dalilah’s Law legislation. She also said she’s “heartbroken” for Pahira’s family, “for his fellow PSP troopers, and for the whole Frackville Barracks community.”
“He spent 20 years protecting our highways and he was doing exactly that when his life was taken. That’s a profound loss felt across our region,” Cognetti said. “And yes, I absolutely support this legislation. Making sure every commercial driver on our interstates can read a road sign, understand a speed limit, and communicate with a State Trooper isn’t a partisan position, it’s basic public safety. Northeastern Pennsylvania has five interstates running through it and thousands of trucks on our roads every day. We owe it to Trooper Pahira, to Dalilah Coleman, and to every family on those highways to make sure states aren’t cutting corners on who gets behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle.”
Bon remains in Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $700,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26. ICE lodged a detainer request asking officials not to release him from custody.
Gov. Josh Shapiro and State Police Acting Commissioner Lt. Col. George Bivens held an emotional press conference following the tragedy that claimed Pahira’s life, praising him as a dedicated family man and an exceptional law enforcement officer.